Illegal Immigration: Republicans Must Go on the Offensive in the Media War As Well

If we don't get our message right, we will be in trouble in a couple of years. This could turn out to be 1964 all over again, where Goldwater lost the African American vote for the Republican party. It is imperative that those in the Republican party get their act together and work together to avoid a catastrophe. It is also key to identify those who act as if they are speaking for the party but in reality might have an agenda that does not include the future of the party. You might claim that you stand for principle before party, fine I welcome you to try to implement your principles and policy without a party mechanism. Throw in the fact that we face a confident and very uniform, well organized goon army of the Democrats. My job is to secure victory and gain votes for the Republican party. In a few years this will be nearly impossible if we do not have the Latino vote. Simple as that. Right now the Democrats are using images, and soundbites that we have supplied them from our grassroots. We are legitimizing their leftist sponsored marches by counter protesting. Our defense of the law in Arizona is shoddy and unprincipled. We are playing defense. I will explain in a second why I say this. It is time to regroup and secure the future by understanding that we must win the messaging war in the media as well. Upholding the rule of law and winning the votes of Texas Latinos is very possible if we are true to our principles. Here a few key points to keep in mind

1. Support Governor Rick Perry. The governor race will be become the proxy war over the illegal immigration issue. With Bill White down by only four points, and with the heavy networking increases in the Latino community trending toward the Democrat Party with emails and facebook statuses stating "Don't Get Mad. Just Vote!" coming out, we have to be on our toes now! The Governor stepped out and beat Bill White to the punch with this response on the Arizona law, and this will buy us time as we form our defense. Texas can protect its future by giving us a chance to win over hearts and minds by fighting back the propaganda in the media via the Perry campaign. The National Democrat Party has brought its heaviest artillery for this one. Here in Houston we will use Bill White's hesitation on Arizona against him.

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1DEG6BWgp0 Using lines such as "Illegal is Illegal" or "Illegal is not a race but a crime," is a tactical mistake. The mindset of our Latino neighbors who somehow or someway are connected to an illegal immigrant, see this issue through the prism that from 1986 until September 11th, 2001 Illegal was not illegal. They will argue that during these years Illegal was welcomed. Let us focus instead on the benefits of upholding rule of law and restoring our free market for both the United States and Mexico. One quick note of importance, Reagan gave amnesty to 3 million illegal aliens in 1986. That generation has gone on to produce Iraqi war veterans, businessman and net contributors to our county. I tell you this because my father is one of them who received amnesty, and I know the voter mindset first hand. To ignore these factors is to take away our own credibility when we must also counter the Democrats claims that Republicans do not care about minorities and their education or that Cap and Trade will open up a new era of green job creation for minorities. Our lost of credibility here means loss of credibility on every other hotly contested issue. We must maintain the high road and win this media war by highlighting our initiative over a very difficult and painful situation. Remember more caucasians voted for President Obama than African Americans. Democrats always try to convince voters that Republicans only care about certain demographics interests. It is our job to explain that our actions are best for all Americans.

3. Engage the media in English and Spanish. The Republican party should be be gaining respect for this action. The challenge for us is that the media is giving us the opportunity to fight and we are no where to be found. We are allowing leftist groups to own the issue in the war in the media. The image we are giving nightly in the media is that of angry counter protesters. We allow the media to form our message for us, and usually it is skewed. This is a huge issue especially in the Spanish media. Winning hearts and minds should focus on explaining that we all share the pain, that we all feel the loss of life and suffering due to lack of order. The Spanish media is hungry for a consistent, practical and down to earth Republican point of view. Talking points won't do, it will take sincerity and explaining that lives are being lost. Respect can be gained by not only defending our actions but by challenging all Texans to rethink exactly how much power we actually do have over crime and corruption. Our message is that we can solve the problem and will. We won't ever be afraid or hesitate when leading. We will also show that when we lead we will lead in a principled manner.

4. Share the pain and the benefits. Upholding the law is never wrong. Using real life stories from the media will give our point of view a sense of compassion and concern. Show pictures of Latino men and women who have died because of unchecked crime, or where people who should have been deported and were not went on to commit crimes on other Latinos. Ask what exactly have the Democrats done to not only stop this crime but also to help Mexico corner the cartels. Explain that Mexico suffers because cartels maneuver so freely to and from the border, leaving pain and suffering along the way without regard to color. Let us bring up the benefits of law and order, that all children can once again play in the streets without being shot or having drugs sold to them, that underground criminal cartels will be able to hold all of us hostage, and that 12 year old little girls won't be used as sex slaves anymore but will able to live a normal life just like they should be able to. Sincerity and emotion is the key. Any other approach in the media war is political suicide. If we can bring out emotion and push back with our stories, it can be a national stalemate or better yet, we will be seen by some as unafraid, just, and determined leaders addressing a serious crime issue that affects all.